Air treating wheel



I Nov. 26, 1940. I R. A. ROBIC 2,223,227

' AIR TREATING WHEEL Filed March 15, 1939 7 if a 3 L12: Z7

i7 :12 v/ v 4 21L 41 a I u u 27 27 n u l 7!! k) D a Invento: 2a 24 2s za /fizarzd fllozzc Attorneys Patented Nov. 26, 1940 UNITED... STATES PATENT OFFICE Raymond A.

, 4'Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in air treating .wheels particularly adapted for air conditioning apparatus.

Fluid treating wheels are known which embody 5 a spirally wound sheet forming a drum or.rotor used for contacting a liquid with a gas'or other fluid. Obviously, the more compactly wound the rotor the greater is the operating surface; in fact, various suggestions have been made to indent, corrugate or otherwise treat the wound sheet for the purpose of enlarging the practical area thereof. I

But, in air conditioning, or gas treating, the fluids subjected to treatment usually contain solid particles, either entrained or produced as a result of some physical or chemical reaction. The net result is a rapid coating of the rotor with a crust which clogsthe passages and rapidly renders the wheels useless. 5

Another serious problem concerns the expansion or contraction of the metal of which the rotor is formed. It is evident that in a domestic or semi-industrial device, where a metal sheet one hundred feet long is wound compactly, the effects of expansion, for instance, are very great and may mean an unbalanced or noisy rotor, besides the tremendous stresses to which-it is subjected. The abovenoted defects are probably responsible for. the failure of such wheels-in practice, although they have been known for sometime.

The present invention is an improvement in a spirally wound rotor and contemplates an arrangement whereby the disadvantages enumerated above are eliminated. Briefly statedj the rotor of the invention embodies meansfor reducing expansion to a negligible value, while means are also provided to render ineffective the contraction effects. pockets are eliminated and means presented which are intended to produce a turbulence, in order to render said rotor self-cleaning.

Consequently, the objects of the invention can be stated as follows: a

An object of the invention-is the provision of an air treating wheel of generallyimproved construction. I H Another object of the invention is the provision of an air treating wheelwhich may be assembled rapidly and efficiently. v v

A further object of the invention is the provision of an air treating wheel having convolutions formed'by the assembly of 'a plurality of spirally wound flexible members;

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an air washing and humidifying wheel which will provide a maximum area of surface and will present a tight structure in assembly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description progresses.

Furthermore, particle-collecting Hobie, outremont, near Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application March 15,

1939, Serial No. 262,073

(Cl. 2614-92) i In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and in which like reference characters are employed todesignate corresponding parts throughout the same:' I

Figure 1 is an end view of one form of the wheel,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary axial section therethrough. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, wherein is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, C generally designates the core of an air treating wheel embodying a pair of end head sections H3 and I I. The section III embodiesa tubular hub member I 2 adapted to slidably receive in th'ebore thereof a shaft I3 removably fixed in the hub by' a set screw I4. In a groove adjacent the inner end of the hub I2 is secured the inner" annular edge portion of a web I5 formed of fiat, rigid, relatively thin plate or sheet material, such as sheet metal, I

having the exterior edge portion shaped approximately in the form of a spiral, as shown to "advantage. at Figure 1. The web I5 is also formed with an'indentation I6 in the form of an elongated re'cess directed inwardly from the outer edge portion in a position substantially tangential to the hub I2. The exterior or peripheral edge of the" web is formed with a lateral outwardly projecting flange II in the form of a continuous, comparatively wide ridge member extending also from the edge of the indentation I 5.

The opposite end head II is similar to the head III with the exception that the hub thereof, indicated at I9, is somewhat longer than the hub I2 and is formed with a comparatively large socket or bore 26 for rotatably engaging a support member and has a reduced inward extension Zlhaving a smaller socket designed to receive thereinthe inner endportion of the shaft I 3'.

Upon the core C are mounted-or wound a plurality of convolution forming members 23 preferably embodying flexible sheets or strips of relatively thin material, such as sheet metal. Certain of the flexible strip'members 23 are treated to provide lateral spacing projections which may be formed by stamping the sheets to partially cut therefrom approximately triangular shaped spacing lugs 24 arranged in transversely spaced rows. As shown to advantage at Figure 2, several of the rows or projections are bent to project laterally,

stamped strips 23, in the present example four of each, are disposed in alternate arrangement with the inner end margins in parallel contacting positions. These marginal portions are inserted into the indentations [6 of the head sections and are firmly secured therein by rivets 26 passed through 40 What porous.

aligned .apertures in the strip margins and the flange II. The series of strip members are then simultaneously wound about the core heads in parallel spiral form to provide a predetermined 5 number of convolutions which, exteriorly of the recess I6, are maintained in approximately uniformly spaced relation by the projections 24. The outermost strip 23 extends beyond the other strips, as shown at Figure 1, and terminates in a looped margin 25, for a purpose which will be hereinafter described. I At spaced intervals about the coiled strip members are provided holding elements 21 in the form of U-shaped clips constructed of metal or like rigid material having side legs disposed radially at theedges of the convolutions and transverse portions extending axially across the exterior coil. At the inner end of the side legs of the clips are provided fastening portions which extend through slots in the flange I! of each end head and are bent in approximately U-shaped form, as indicated at 28 and shown at Figure 2,

to firmly secure theclips in position. Between the side legs of the clips 21 and the side edges 25 of'the coils are positioned filler strips 29, of

, yieldable-cushioning material, such as soft rubber, which provides an efficient packing. As illustrated at Figure 1, the clips 21 may be spaced at intervals at approximately 90 and will thus tightly embrace the convolutions. The folded end marginal portion 25 of the outermost sheet member 23 is arranged to embrace the transverse portion of one of the clips 2'! to firmly fasten the end structure of the coils.

' 5 Thus, my inventionpresents a wheel or rotor construction having the spaced convolutions .thereof formed of a plurality of spirally wound simultaneously assembled members havingthe surface thereof treated to render the same some- Such treatment is advantageous in that it produces a great increase in the capillary action by the liquid wetting the rotor, and also may be such as to form a corrosion resisting coating. This coil structure and core and clip construction with which it is assembled provides a very efiicient air conditioning rotor which may be built with a maximum of economic productivity. Furthermore, it furnishes a large treating area v in a comparatively light, compact and tight wheel assembly.

This large area, for a given size of rotor, can

be greatly increased by the addition of a relarotor are evidently muchlonger than the center ones, due to the diameter difference between the Therefore, the advantage of a circular wound rotor is the facility of condensing a large surface in a relatively small space, and of increasing considerably the area of useful humidifying surface, without correspondingly enlarging the rotor size, by the simple expedient of winding a few additional outer layers.

As an explanation, a practical example is given wherein the hub of the rotor is 6 inches in diameter, the convolutions spaced inch and the width of the wound sheet 10 inches; f

Now, calculating the available surface of each 5 convolution, for anincrease in diameter of one inch, and adding, we have:

At 6 inch diameter: 18.84 10=188.4 At 6% inch diameter: 19.62 10=196.2 At 6 1; inch diameter: 20.41 x 10:041 At 6% inch diameter: 21.19 10=211.9' At 7 inch diameter:'21.98 l0=219.8

Of course, both sides of. the wound sheet are 20 effective in evaporating water; since, however, the lower portion of the rotor dips in water, the actual area is therefore one-half only so that it is not necessary to figure both sides in our calculations. .25

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention herein shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes as to the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without ,30 departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1.- In a wheel of the character described, a core embodying a plurality of sections of ap- '31 proximately spiral contour, each of the said sections having an elongated indentation formed therein, and a plurality of strips having their inner end marginal portions secured inthe said indentations of the sections and wound in par- 49 allel arrangement to form spiral convolutions about the cor-e. I

2. In a wheel of the'character described, a core embodying a plurality of sections of approximately spiral contour, each of the said sections 4 having an elongated indentation formed therein,

a plurality of strips having their inner end marginal portions secured in the said indentations of the sections and Wound in parallel arrange-- ment to form spiral convolutions about the core, 5c and projections formed on the strips for maintaining the major portions thereof in spaced relation.

3. In a wheel of the character described, a core embodying a plurality of sections of approximately spiral contour, each of the saidsections having an elongated indentation formed therein, a plurality of strips having their inner end mare ginal portions secured in the said indentations of the sections and wound in parallel arrangement so to form spiral convolutions about the core, projections formed on the strips for maintaining the major portions thereof in spaced relation, and a plurality of U-shap ed clips fitted over the convolutions and attached to the core. .125

4.111 a wheel of the character described, a Y pair of complementary core sections, each of the said sections having a tangential recess, and a plurality of strips wound in spiral formation about thesaid core sections having theirinner end portions secured in the recesses.

RAYMOND A. RQBIC. 

